North Africa

Egypt’s Prospects for Economic Growth [Video]

By EgyptSource

Following the release of The Economic Consequences of the Arab Spring, Mohsin Khan, senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Middle East Center, speaks on Egypt’s prospects for economic growth. Khan gives a somewhat optimistic outlook for Egypt’s economic growth due to financing coming from the Gulf countries, which Khan says, is helping the nation stabilize its […]

Libya: A Tanker, a Fallen Prime Minister, and a Transition in Question

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Months of political wrangling in Libya between an enfeebled government and a fractured legislature culminated this week in a vote by the General National Congress (GNC) to remove Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from office. Zeidan spent much of his tenure on the defensive, accumulating political baggage that stifled any chance of relegitimizing the state. 

The Gulf’s Geoeconomic Interests in Egypt

By EgyptSource

Mohsin Khan, a resident senior fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East focusing on the economic dimensions of transition in the Middle East and North Africa, argues in his latest article for the Atlantic Council’s MENASource that the Gulf states “have started using their vast  resources to shape the region, direct political developments, […]

A Margin for Democracy

By Amr Hamzawy

A series of questions for those who have long stayed silent

Tip-toeing Toward Criticism: 27 Countries Rebuke Egypt at UN Human Rights Council

By Amy Hawthorne

In a setback to Egypt’s efforts to convince the international community that it is moving toward democracy, twenty-seven countries delivered an unprecedented joint statement on Egypt at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on March 7.  This is the first time that so many countries—the United States, the European Union “big three” […]

Three Years On, Arab Transitions Remain Incomplete

Three years after a wave of popular uprisings swept aside long-standing regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen, the future of the region remains uncertain. The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East held a panel discussion on March 11th to discuss the current state of the Arab transitions to look ahead at economic and […]

Egypt UN Delegation Critical of UN Human Rights Council Statement

By EgyptSource

During the twenty-fifth Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 7, the Egyptian delegation strongly refuted criticisms of its human rights record expressed in a joint statement of twenty-seven nations. The joint statement, which included endorsement from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Turkey, expressed “concern about the […]

Egypt’s New Government and the Workers

By Tom Rollins

Last week Egypt’s new Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mehleb, announced he was banning bottled water in government buildings.  “This step comes from my eagerness to cut spending and share the lifestyle of ordinary people,” Mehleb was cited as telling reporters. On social media, reactions fluctuated between nods of approval and criticism of a “silly PR move” […]